Seven Boo-tacular Places to Visit This Halloween
We've prepared a list of our favorite haunted places. Explore with caution and if you have any cool stories or photos, be sure to tag us using #ItsBetterInTheBahamas.
1. Haunted House - Harbour Island
This home was built in 1945 by wealthy newlyweds. Rumor has it that the couple had a horrible argument and the bride left the house with the husband following shortly after. Where they went is still a mystery, as neither of them ever returned, and everything has been left as it was, including the set table and their wedding gifts. Children on the island have reportedly seen two figures floating around the house.
2. Great Isaac Cay Lighthouse - Bimini
The 152-foot Great Isaac Cay Lighthouse was originally built as an exhibit for the Great London Exposition of 1862. Years later, it was shipped back in pieces to Isaac Cay and reassembled for more practical use. Multiple ghosts are said to haunt the lighthouse, the first being a young boy who was eaten by sharks just by the shore. Legend says he was a passenger aboard a supply ship traveling to Isaac Cay while the lighthouse was being constructed. The ship crashed and the young boy was the only casualty, leaving his spirit to roam.
Another spirit that haunts the Great Isaac Cay Lighthouse is the Grey Lady. She was among an entire shipload of folks who died in the waters just off the cay in the late 19th century. Everyone on the ship died, except for her infant son. Rumor has it that on full moon nights you can hear her moaning in search of her son.
3. Dixon Hill Lighthouse - San Salvador
Constructed in 1856 on Watling Island, the brick tower is 164 feet tall, and one of only 10 kerosene-powered lighthouses in the world. It was first owned by British loyalist Burton Williams, and his descendant Thomas inherited it. Thomas lost his foot in a boating accident and died in the 1950s. Since then a one-footed ghost has reportedly been seen by servicemen and students.
4. Club Med Grounds - Paradise Island
This property was owned by Mr. Izaak Walton Killam in the late 1800s. He was one of Canada's most successful financiers. After Killam and his wife passed away, the property passed through several owners including Axel Wenner-Gren, a Swedish industrialist who was said to have been deported from The Bahamas on the suspicion that he was a Nazi spy. The property was then purchased by Huntington Hartford.
Employees claim that a woman who owned the property long ago had several husbands that mysteriously died, and she buried them alongside the pool. There were rumors of underground pathways leading to the rooms. Some say that if you sit at the pool’s edge late at night by the diving board, a ghost would come and push you into the water.
Management also told employees that a part of the property at The Blue House was off-limits, as certain rooms were boarded up with floor to ceiling panels and no entry signs posted. Sometimes, lights would switch on and off from this room that no one had access to. Locals say that someone died in that part of the house, and a few staff members who lived in that part of the house got so scared they had to be institutionalized. Parts of the property including the Killham's mansion have been refurbished and renovated. The remaining property has been taken over by the Sivanada Ashram Yoga Retreat.
Photo by Natasha Fudem
5. SS Sapona - Bimini
The SS Sapona (the first Bahamian haunted ship) was a concrete cargo vessel designed by Henry Ford and originally commissioned by President Woodrow Wilson during World War 1. It never made it to the war as it wasn't completed on time, and the owner eventually sold it to Bruce Bethel. Bruce, at the time, was a rum runner in The Bahamas and he planned to use the Sapona to expand his operations but his plans were changed in 1926, when a hurricane destroyed the Sapona by splitting the stern from the rest of the ship, ensuring it never moved again. The ship was then used as target practice for U.S. Armed Forces. Today it's a great spot for snorkeling, even in October, and sea life is visible inside and outside the ship. With its hollowed, spooky appearance and ghost tales, it's also a great place to explore for Halloween. To get a proper scare, swim inside.
6. Cholera Graveyard - Abaco
In the 1850s, residents of Hope Town, Abaco were exposed to the Cholera epidemic. This disease resulted in 100 lives lost, and the community came together and assigned a burial site for their loved ones. Today, the graveyard still exists, but there aren’t any gravestones marking the graves. Although there's no haunted story attached to this one, the graveyard itself is spooky, and, of course, graveyards are always on the itinerary for Halloween.
7. Big Blue Hole - Cat Island
Located near Orange Creek just off Dickies Road, the Big Blue Hole is said to be the home of a sea monster that devours horses and other animals. This deep blue hole has strong undersea currents that flow through the caverns to the sea, where dead farm animals tossed into the lake end up. The body of water bubbles and gurgles constantly. The story of the sea monster still scares local fishermen from venturing too far into this fresh water blue hole.
Witching you a very haunted Halloween!